NORMAN, Okla. — No. 6 Tennessee's SEC battle against No. 15 Oklahoma on Saturday will mark head coach Josh Heupel's first time back in Norman in a decade, ever since he was let go as the Sooners' co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Heupel was an OU quarterback in his own right and guided the Sooners to their most recent national championship in 2000. Damian Mackey, a wide receiver on that unbeaten championship team, said Heupel was special as a player.
"Heupel was our four-star general," Mackey said. "He made us feel good, and we felt comfortable with him in the pocket."
Looking back on it, Mackey said Heupel reminded him a little bit of all-time great quarterback Tom Brady — maybe not in his ability or success on the field, but definitely in his demeanor.
"Heupel is going to talk a little something. He's going to find a way," Mackey said. "He's not going to hotdog, but you know he's in the foxhole with you when those bullets are flying."
Heupel's unceremonious exit from the OU coaching staff in 2014 makes for a mixed legacy with the program and his relationship with the Oklahoma fanbase. Now that Heupel has turned around a fellow blue-blood program, the fanbase can't look down on him as a coach, as they once could.
"People were trying to justify the firing," Mackey said. "Now, the people who were saying that don't have that excuse anymore. He's at a big-time program and they've been doing really well."
Now that Josh Heupel and Tennessee are in Norman, Mackey said the goal of the Vols and their head coach is clear.
"I know Heupel wants to come in on Saturday and kick our butts. I know that for sure," Mackey said. "I know there's going to be a little extra sauce on that gameplan and those schemes they'll be running."
Regardless of what OU fans may think of Heupel as a coach and as someone who is no longer with the program, Mackey said there is no denying Heupel's overall legacy at Oklahoma.
"Everybody reveres him," Mackey said. "Josh definitely personifies championships and I don't think anyone can speak against that, because a lot of what we are afforded today, either Josh was the quarterback or was coaching those teams that got to play in big games."
Tennessee will take on Oklahoma in the Sooners' first-ever SEC battle on Saturday night in Norman, Oklahoma, with the opening kickoff set for 7:30 ET/6:30 CT.
